Mallorca welcome Granada to the Visit Mallorca Stadium on Thursday evening knowing that only a win will do if they are to keep any hope of La Liga survival alive.
Meanwhile, Granada lie smack bang in the middle of the table and realistically have little to play for as they head into their penultimate game of the season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Mallorca have endured a dispiriting La Liga campaign and look all but set for an immediate return to the second division with just two games remaining.
Los Bermellones currently lie four points adrift of safety as they occupy 19th spot in the table, and Mallorca fans will be pinning their hopes on Real Betis to overcome 17th-placed Deportivo Alaves on the same evening.
Should Mallorca fail to win and Alaves pick up at least a point in their fixture with Betis, Mallorca's relegation to the Segunda Division will be confirmed before they face Osasuna in the final weekend of the season.
A total of nine wins from 36 matches is not bad going for a newly-promoted side, but Vicente Moreno's men have lost the joint-most amount of games (22) and have shipped more goals (61) than any other team during the 2019-20 campaign.
Mallorca are not expected to climb above the dotted line at this very late stage, but Moreno's side have enjoyed back-to-back victories against Celta Vigo and Levante on home soil recently.
© Reuters
As for Granada, Diego Martinez's men produced a valiant performance against Real Madrid but ultimately succumbed to defeat against the title-chasing Blancos.
Early goals from Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema ended Granada's three-game unbeaten run in frustrating fashion, but El Grana can certainly be proud of their achievements this season.
Having just made their return to the big time after a two-year stint in the second tier, Granada are still in outside contention for a European spot as they lie four points behind seventh-placed Real Sociedad.
While a late charge for a top-seven finish seems extremely unlikely with just two games left to play, Martinez's men have exceeded expectations this season and have undoubtedly proven their worth as a top-flight club.
Thursday's game represents just the 10th meeting between Granada and Mallorca, with the former coming out on top earlier in the season courtesy of an Angel Montoro winner.
Mallorca La Liga form: LLWLWL
Granada La Liga form: DLWDWL
Team News
© Reuters
Mallorca's Fran Gamez is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the weekend defeat to Sevilla.
The 28-year-old joins fellow full-back Lumor Agbenyenu on the sidelines, while Leonardo Koutris and Marc Pedraza are both expected to miss out.
Mallorca's injury woes in defence do not end there as Joan Sastre is struggling with an ankle issue, but the Spaniard should deputise at left-back if he is passed fit.
Granada already have a plethora of injures to contend with, as the likes of Quini, Neyder Lozano, Maxime Gonalons and Alex Martinez are all on the treatment table.
Roberto Soldado did not feature in the defeat to Real Madrid but will be vying for a start up top here, while Antonio Puertas is also expected to occupy the right flank.
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Reina; Pozo, Valjent, Raillo, Sastre; Sevilla, Rodriguez, Baba; Kubo, Budimir, Hernandez
Granada possible starting lineup:
Silva; Diaz, Sanchez, Duarte, Neva; Puertas, Herrera, Eteki, Machis; Fernandez, Soldado
We say: Mallorca 1-1 Granada
Even if Mallorca do manage to record their 10th triumph of the season in this game, the result may pale into insignificance depending on the outcome of Alaves' game. Granada have also enjoyed an impressive recent set of results on the road to complement Mallorca's respectable home form, but we cannot separate the two sides for this one.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Granada win with a probability of 36.08%. A win for Mallorca had a probability of 35.62% and a draw had a probability of 28.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Granada win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.68%) and 0-2 (6.67%). The likeliest Mallorca win was 1-0 (11.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.24%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Granada would win this match.
